On Wednesday, United States (US) Vice President (VP) Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron announced new partnerships in space and cybersecurity during a meeting in Paris. Their meeting represents a continued attempt by the US to mend bilateral ties after the fallout from the submarine deal in September.
According to a White House statement, Harris and Macron agreed to establish a “US-France Comprehensive Dialogue on Space” to enhance civil, commercial, and national security space cooperation.
The US also announced its commitment to joining the Space Climate Observatory (SCO) and cooperating with France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) to formulate the SCO charter. According to the statement, the SCO is a project “that helps make data from space accessible to local entities to inform decisions and measures to mitigate and respond to the climate crisis.”
Furthermore, Harris expressed Washington’s support for the ‘Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace.’ The Paris Call is a voluntary commitment to promote and ensure norms of responsible behaviour in cyberspace, and reportedly “includes working with like-minded countries to attribute and hold accountable States that engage in destructive, disruptive, and destabilising cyber activity.”
In September, tensions between long term allies the US and France dramatically escalated after Australia abandoned its $65 billion traditional submarine purchasing deal with France in favour of the AUKUS nuclear submarine development deal with the US and the United Kingdom. French officials described sabotaging their deal as a “stab in the back” and something “Mr Trump would do,” and briefly recalled its ambassador from the US.
Harris’s visit marks another American effort to improve relations with France after US President Joe Biden during last month’s G20 Summit acknowledged that his administration’s handling of the situation was “clumsy.”
During her visit, Harris ignored questions from reporters regarding the diplomatic spat and instead answered, “I’m very happy to be in Paris.” Macron responded to similar questions by saying he was “extremely grateful for [her] presence.”
Before their meeting in Paris, Macron said, “We do share the view that we are at the beginning of a new era, and our cooperation is absolutely critical for this one.” Likewise, Harris said, “When the US and France have worked together on challenges and opportunities, we have always found great success because of shared values and shared priorities.”
Analysts, however, have questioned the effectiveness of Harris’s visit. Nicholas Dungan, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, commented, “She’s seen and appreciated as a high-level visitor but not as a substitute president.” On the other hand, right-leaning French daily Le Figaro labelled Harris’s visit as a “charm offensive aimed at France.”
Meanwhile, Eric Zemmour, a far-right commentator and a potential opponent to Macron in next year’s presidential election, has said that the whole submarine fiasco has undermined Macron’s leadership. Zemmour earlier called Macron’s reconciliatory meeting with Biden at the G20 Summit “humiliating.”
Harris is set to deliver remarks at the Paris Peace Forum on Thursday before attending an international summit on the situation in Libya on Friday.
Harris And Macron Attempt To Rebuild US-France Ties Following AUKUS Fallout
Tensions between the long term allies dramatically escalated last month after Australia abandoned a $65 billion submarine deal with France in favour of the AUKUS deal with the US and the UK.
November 11, 2021
United States Vice President Kamala Harris (L) with French President Emmanuel Macron SOURCE: REUTERS